May 23, 2018

Michael Cohen's business partner strikes plea deal

Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Michael Cohen's partner, Evgeny Freidman, has agreed to assist state and federal investigators as a witness in exchange for no jail time, the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: This is more bad news for Cohen, and potentially for President Trump. As Axios' Jonathan Swan and Mike Allen reported, Cohen "is potentially more perilous to President Trump than anybody else." Per the Times, this plea deal could result in added pressure on Cohen to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller.

The details: Freidman, a Russian immigrant, was facing four criminal tax fraud charges and one grand larceny charge. He pled guilty on Tuesday to one count of evading $50,000 in taxes, and faces five years of probation if he holds up his end of the plea deal, the Times reports.

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Orion Rummler

Mass shooting in Milwaukee: What we know so far

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in 2012. Photo: John Gress/Corbis via Getty Images

Six people died in a shooting at the Milwaukee Molson Coors brewery complex on Wednesday, including the shooter, Mayor Tom Barrett told reporters at an evening press conference with local police.

What's happening: Police said "there is no active threat" just before 6 pm ET, but noted the scene remains active. Police chief Alfonso Morales told reporters that officers have "more than 20 buildings we have to secure" at the complex and they do not currently have all employees accounted for, as more than 1,000 were at the complex during the shooting.

Go deeperUpdated 13 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Axios

Live updates: CDC confirms possible community spread of coronavirus

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

U.S. clinicians have found the novel coronavirus in a person who did not recently return from a foreign country nor have contact with a confirmed case, the CDC said Tuesday.

The big picture: COVID-19 has killed more than 2,700 people and infected over 81,000 others. By Wednesday morning, South Korea had the most cases outside China, with 1,261 infections. Europe's biggest outbreak is in Italy, where 374 cases have been confirmed.

Go deeperUpdated 29 mins ago - Health

Zachary Basu

Trump assigns Pence to lead U.S. coronavirus response

Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump announced at a press briefing Wednesday evening that he'll be putting Vice President Mike Pence in charge of leading the administration's response to the coronavirus.

The big picture: In the wake of a market sell-off and warnings from health officials that there's a real threat of the coronavirus spreading in the U.S., Trump sought to reassure the nation and Wall Street that the U.S. is "ready" for whatever comes next.

Go deeperUpdated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy